In a new campaign called “The Golden Age of Travel Starts with You,” U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy is urging travelers to bring civility and respect back to the skies.
“There’s no question we’ve lost sight of what makes travel fun — the excitement, the relaxation, the cordial conversations,” the DOT’s announcement reads. “Americans already feel divided and stressed. We can all do our part to bring back civility, manners and common sense. When we can unite around shared values, we can feel more connected as a country.”
Duffy’s proposed fixes? Straightforward enough:
• Be courteous to fellow passengers
• Say please and thank you to your flight crews
• Lend a hand to anyone who could use it
• And dress with respect
Most of us can agree that the first three are reasonable — the bare minimum, really. It’s that fourth directive that has the internet raising an eyebrow.
“What an idiot. How does airplane attire have anything to do with air travel issues?” one Redditor wrote. “Why would I dress up to go on a bus with wings?” another asked.
Now, I’m no psychologist, nor am I defending unruly behavior, but the idea that tightening wardrobe expectations beyond the current guidelines (which already prohibit bare feet and anything “lewd, obscene or patently offensive”) will somehow curb in-flight meltdowns feels, at best, classist and, at worst, sexist or even racist. Enforcing “respectable attire” has historically meant policing certain bodies more than others — as if slipping into a pantsuit suddenly renders someone incapable of causing a scene.
That’s not to say people don’t occasionally push the limits — especially by opting out of clothes altogether. And, to be fair, Duffy isn’t proposing a formal dress code. But he is missing the point.
When unruly passenger incidents hit a record high in 2021 — 5,981 reports in total — the FAA noted that 72% stemmed from mask mandates, not wardrobe choices. There’s no scientific evidence linking attire to aggression. Meanwhile, alcohol — another leading driver of in-flight issues — is legally available to every adult onboard, whether they’re wearing sweatpants or a three-piece suit.
Despite this, Duffy leans heavily on a romanticized vision of the 1950s and ’60s Golden Age of Travel — an era when flying was reserved for the elite. Air travel wasn’t just transportation; it was theater. As Yahoo puts it, airports were places to “be seen and be seen.” It was not, by any stretch, accessible to the masses the way it is today and — given that context — it’s hardly an era worth resurrecting.
And if we’re talking about ushering in a new Golden Age, the responsibility can’t rest solely on passengers. In the ’50s and ’60s, travelers enjoyed spacious seats, white-glove service and multi-course meals. Today, people pay a premium to wedge into shrinking economy cabins and receive a bag of pretzels on a decades-old aircraft. When the product gets worse, it can only demand so much in return.
Add in the volatility of modern air travel and you get a flying public that’s understandably on edge. That frustration should never justify abuse toward airport staff or flight attendants, full stop. But travelers are paying more than ever to stand in longer lines, weather cascading delays and absorb outright cancellations.
And in an especially rich twist, Duffy’s own administration recently withdrew a Biden-era proposal that would have required airlines to compensate passengers cash for major disruptions — a move that doesn’t exactly scream “two-way street.”
All of which is to say, if Duffy truly wants to revive the Golden Age of Travel, he might start by addressing the turbulence on the airline side — not the cut of someone’s pants.
More Like This
This article appeared in an InsideHook newsletter. Sign up for free to get more on travel, wellness, style, drinking, and culture.